Rhythm Blood and Soul
by Three AM
Summary: There are things that should be kept as is. And there are those that are meant for a change. Fate might have decided their destinies together, but that doesn't mean everyone else would just easily accept it. Jared/Kim.
1. The King and Kim

**RHYTHM BLOOD AND SOUL**

_**Three AM**_

_Chapter One: The King and Kim_

xxx

One would've thought the ideas coming to my eternally charged brain were weird as hell. Like how it sucked so hard to be pretty and popular – and no, not because I was envious of them, it's because I think it's awfully terrible to grow that jaded before marriage. Or how wrong the people were if they think the sun was the most powerful heavenly being created – come in La Push and you'll find out that the holy sunlight could be defeated by the endless blanket of thick heavy clouds, many times. Or how Mr. Spoons, our Advanced Literature teacher, looked eerily like Professor Snape from the Harry Potter movies. Or maybe how my seatmate was acting terribly…

Weird would not be enough of a word to describe his actions for the past few days. Suspicious maybe. Or like he sniffed a whole bottle of cough syrup before going to school (not that I know the feeling but…).

I frowned.

One would think I would be _elated_ now that the day I've been waiting for since my freshman years has come. The day that _the_ Jared King finally _finally_ took a notice of meek me.

You see, I've had this… little crush on Jared (or T.K., short for The King – of my life. Lame, I know.) since I set sights on him on my first day here at the reservation's school three years ago.

Three years ago, I didn't know a single soul from this little town, except of course from my family. First day of school and I was a bundle of unlit firecrackers – full of nerves and tense energy – until I saw him, Jared King, walking on the opposite direction of me in the busy hallway of the school. Of course, the natural klutz that I am, I stood frozen in the spot as I stared up at him, the gap between us slowly _slowly_ shortening as he continued to walk towards me. And then as if Fate's hands directed his face towards mine, our eyes met when he was at an arm's length away… and then he smiled.

I was gripped.

Or maybe because I consider him as my first ever "friend" that I made in La Push, that's why I felt connected to him somehow.

Okay, so that's pretty pathetic. The first person to smile at me when I was new in town and I consider him a friend whereas I wasn't even sure if he knew my name back then?

Stupid, right?

I was born and bred on Los Angeles in our huge and warm house… although, I guess, huge would be an understatement. I admit that our family could be considered sitting in one of the top chairs in the high-class society (though I never bragged about it, as our parents taught us), what with our family inheriting my father's parents' multinational corporation in the shipping industry. At first, my grandparents were totally against the idea of my father and mother falling in love and getting married (eloped more like). They even had my Dad banished from their manor, resulting in my parents to start living with practically nothing but their clothes. I had to owe it to my parents. They were very hardworking and never held a grudge against my grandparents. But when grandfather was diagnosed with brain cancer, my grandparents then decided to hand over the whole shipping business to my Dad, their only son and heir. Then my grandparents passed away (grandmother following her late husband a few months after), and we never set foot again on our rented apartment. I guess, everyone who heard of our family's sob story would say we're pretty lucky.

But I would have to disagree.

If we were that lucky, Dad and Mom wouldn't have died in a car crash three years ago. Two of my eldest brothers, William and Anthony, wouldn't have to fight the government's social services for the legal guardianship of us minors back then. (How could we starve when each of us Connweller kids inherited a large sum of money from our family's luxurious business?) And since Will and Ant were already living in La Push, Washington when all that jazz happened, (why were my elder brothers living so far away from us in LA? That's another story for another day, I think) they decided it would be best for Adam and I to move from Los Angeles and stay with them in our house in the reservation so the social services could "shove all their crap in their asses" (Adam's words not mine).

That, plus the fact that we knew our parent's death was no accident. Up to now, three years after, their case was still open and pending in the Supreme Court. And really, who could assault us in this tiny, almost ignorable town?

All of those summed up was probably the biggest turmoil our family had to face.

See? Even people who were more financially blessed than most had their own set of problems too. I couldn't see why most people here could easily judge us just because of our social standing.

The school bell rang signaling the end of third period. Lunch time next. I wonder if he would ask me again—

"Hi Kim," a familiar voice said to my right. Without even looking up, I knew who it was. "Can I join you for lunch?"

I slowly put my things in my backpack, thinking of a new excuse to say this time. Yesterday, it was a research in library. The day before that, I lied that I had stomach flu so I rushed to the ladies' room. What now?

"Uhm," Jared stuttered. Unsurely, I looked up at him. "You probably have other things to do, right? I could… uh, join you. Or keep you company… or… something," he trailed off, giving me a hesitant and expectant look. Only he could pull something _so _cute like that.

'_Ack! No Kim! Focus!'_

I stood up and was about to pull up my bag when he instantly grabbed it from me. "Here, let me help you," he said.

"No, it's okay!" I exclaimed, surprised. "You don't have to—"

"But I want to."

"What's up with you?" As soon as I blurted out, I clamped a hand to my mouth and stared up at him with wide eyes. I could feel my blush creeping to my face. Oh shit.

"What's up with me?" he repeated my question, not seemingly offended by my outburst. In fact, he shouldered both my bag and his own on one side and I immediately worried about its weight. I mean, I have Physics next after lunch and I already have my thick as encyclopedia textbook in my bag.

"I can carry my own bag, thanks," I said as I reached to get it but he quickly grasped my hand.

'_Oh. My_._ GOD. TK is holding my hand everyone!'_

"It's fine," he said, smiling, his dimples deepening. Oh fudge oh shoot he was still smiling at me. And he' _still_ holding my hand. _OH MY_ –

"Why? Any treasures in here? Or are you hiding something illegal?"

"What? No," I quickly answered. Me? Doing anything remotely illegal? My brothers would kill me first. "Please, you don't need to do that."

"I can't believe we're arguing about your bag," he muttered, almost rolling his eyes, but I heard it anyway.

"If only you'll give it back then we won't be having this conversation," I inserted.

Then he looked at me, _AGAIN_, straight in the eyes, his brown ones darkening. Suddenly, I couldn't seem to breathe anymore.

"No conversation?" he asked, oh so softly. "Are you sure about that Kim?" And I noticed his eyes deliberately looking down from mine… and into my lips.

I gulped.

"Yo Jared!"

xxx

I whipped my head away from my imprint and saw my pack mate, Paul Kane, standing in the doorway with a questioning look on his face.

I decided to ignore him and turn my attention back to the girl in front of me.

_Kim._

Just the sound of her name echoing in my head sent something like a big rush of energy pulsing from my head, down to my heart and then all over my body. It was the strangest feeling… like this intense electricity making my heart beat so fast and strong. And at the same time, it was like a gentle wave of soothing water, calming the monster in me down, blissfully at peace. Ugh, it sounded so weird, yeah?

And so fucking gay.

But I swore it's all her so don't blame me.

I looked down at her and couldn't help but smile. She wasn't really petite, but compared to my humungous built, the top of her head only reached up to my chest. I couldn't explain in details what she looked like, but if you'd ask me, she's completely beautiful. I could easily tell anyone that she had perfect eyebrows, pretty grey eyes (I would have loved staring at those eyes for hours), impossibly long eyelashes (hah! I knew the girls here in campus envied those), cute nose, and those lips… I felt guilty, but I have to admit I've had the most pleasurable fantasies about those double-curved lips of hers.

'_God I wanna kiss her.'_

She also got this long dark hair which was so straight and smooth it reminded me of satin sheets. And her skin… she had light brown complexion, unlike the usual dark tone most of us locals have, which made me think she's not purely Quileute. But the more important thing was, her skin reminded me so much of caramel that I wanted _so badly_ to reach out and… (this would be weird) just lick her. From the distance that I always _thankfully_ could manage, she always smelled to me like strawberries and… yup, you guessed it, caramel. I guess it was no surprise why I find myself always _craving_ for her.

'_Jesus I'm such a pervert.' _

And as if whatever heavenly being above heard me, something hard smacked me, on the back of my head. Growling, I turned and saw Paul with the same irritated look on his face.

"What the fu—up," I coughed. "What's up, Paul?"

Said "friend" raised his eyebrow at me. I discreetly tilted my head towards my imprint and he immediately got it as he smirked at me. Bastard.

"Hey Kim." I watched as he nodded towards her.

"Hi Paul," her soft voice greeted him back then shyly ducked her head, but not before I caught her smile briefly at him. I frowned. Why did he get a smile when I, who had been _trying _to talk to her for days, never got one?

"I hate to break your little secret meeting–" (Kim blushed, how cute.) "—but Jared, we gotta go," he said.

'_Huh?'_

"What? Go where?" I asked, not liking Paul very much right now. First, he got a smile from _my_ imprint. Then now he wanted to take me away from her? No way dude.

He huffed, clearly annoyed. "Just come with me, man."

"No."

"What?"

"I don't want to," I answered, then quickly turned to the girl staring silently at us. I smiled. "So Kim, lunch?"

But before she could reply, a hard shove pushed me on the shoulder, causing me to stumble a bit backwards and a chair to fall off. "What the hell dude?!" I screamed at him, shoving him back. Another chair and this time, a table, screeched against the floor. I winced at the piercing sound.

"You're asking me? What the fuck is _your _problem?!" he yelled. He was starting to shake a bit and instinctively, I moved in front of Kim shielding her from him.

"Dude, fine, sorry. Just chill alright?" I said, trying to silently tell him to calm the fuck down.

He seemed to get it because suddenly, he stopped. Then, rolling his eyes, he exasperatedly said, "I hate this as much as you do, okay? Tracey is waiting for me in the girls' locker room at the gym and you know I never turn down a free meal. But boss just called a few minutes ago and we need to meet up with him. Now."

I narrowed my eyes and gritted my teeth. I should have known this was Sam's fault. Stupid Alpha.

Sighing heavily, I turned to Kim, who was now staring at us with wide eyes. I could hear her heartbeat beating fast and I grimaced. It didn't take a genius to feel that she's quite upset. I didn't want to dwell on what she must think of me—of us—right now. Fuck. So much for first impressions.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly reached toward her. When she didn't step back nor flinched away from my stare, I finally grasped her shoulder. I tried to smile, hoping it would placate her.

"Sorry Kim," I said, hoping she'd get my sincerity. "But I need to go. Guess we'll just take another rain check on that lunch, huh."

She bit her lip and I immediately got drawn. I wanted to cup her face and touch her lips…

"It's okay," she said. I blinked. "I think you really should go. You might get in trouble at work if you don't."

I felt something not so pleasant tug in my chest. I didn't want to leave her. But… maybe if I could get a goodbye kiss…

"But," she started and my eyes widened, hope flaring inside me. _'Maybe she feels the same way as I do…?'_

"I need my bag," she continued. _'Oh.'_

"Oh," I said, stupidly. "Right. I… uhm…"

"_What the FUCK is going on?!?"_

xxx

I was running late.

And starving.

Me late for my food was never a good thing. People here at school always knew to make a path in the hallways for me, but whenever I got extra cranky, they better stay out of my fucking way.

I heard my stomach growled and I cursed inwardly. Damn that shitbrained McGallagher. I already passed my freaking essay last Monday (I even had my sister typed it out for me on Sunday night -- all three pages) but no, mister-know-it-all bastard kept on insisting that I never handed out a single paper and even threatened (he fucking threatened _ME_ of all people!) a detention if he didn't have it by tomorrow. Hah! Well fuck him and his amnesia – I wouldn't give him a single scrap until he finally burst a vein and have a stroke. Hell, this whole damn school would probably even owe me for that.

My stomach complained again. _'Yeah yeah, we're on our way. Now shut it.'_

I turned a corner, hitting someone in the process. But I barely cared (he, or she, should have known better than to stand in my way) – and continued walking briskly. I passed by a room, its door opened and at the corner of my eye could see a few people still in it. As I was just about to take another step, I froze. My brain quickly recalled the images in the last three seconds.

Kane.

King.

Kim.

'_Wait what?'_

It took me three steps backwards. Two seconds to reach the door. And one big breath to yell.

"What the _FUCK_ is going on?!?"

xxx

**Promise, I didn't intend that small KKK on purpose. Honest!**

**So. Heeeey. It's been a long time since I wrote another fanfic. I was hesitant to write a Jared/Kim story but I've been quite obsessed with this couple for a while. So little was given to them and I think it'd be fun to create a new world for them. So I decided to give it a shot. **

**This is un-beta'ed so I'm sorry for any grammatical errors or whatnot. Anyone interested in beta-reading for me, just pm me or something. I just need someone to check my grammar and minor stuff. :)**

**Reviews are very much appreciated! :D**


	2. Between Heart and Blood

_Standard disclaimers apply here. Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer._

xxx

**RHYTHM BLOOD AND SOUL**

_**Three AM**_

_Chapter Two: Between Heart and Blood_

xxx

It was like a slow motion movie feature in the first Spiderman movie. Remember, when Peter Parker was dealing with his newly-acquired super-powers and then that big bad bully threw a punch at him. However, instead of it landing squarely in the face, he saw it all too clearly… the big fist _slooooowly _aiming straight at his face and he could _instill_ every single second of that in his mind… and instead of getting hit, he was able to duck.

I always wondered how that would've felt like. Would it be nice to see every motion in every second? Or would it feel awful because you can never expect any surprises?

Right now, I got my answer. It was neither.

It was thoroughly strange. It was like being submerged in water, with weird incomprehensible sounds buzzing in my ear. My whole body felt heavy like lead and I couldn't move, couldn't even utter a single word.

'_Now would be nice to be like Spiderman,' _I thought. But instead of having powers, I was stuck frozen, my mind unbelievably blank. Shocked. Everything happened so fast just a few seconds ago…

At first, all I saw was Jared's back, his stance like he was trying to protect me but that was utterly ridiculous. And then Paul was yelling something. The next thing I knew, another guy was lying sprawled on the floor of our classroom (Mr. Spoons would have a heart attack at the mess!) and Jared was on top of him… well, I really hated to say bad words, but he was really beating the guy's ass off, not that the other guy was not doing anything. In fact he was also—

'_Wait a minute…'_

"STOP!" I yelled, staring at the scene in front of me with eyes wide open, utterly aghast. "That's my brother!"

I was suddenly aware of Paul standing beside me, slightly in front, holding my arm preventing me from moving. I yanked my arm off and tugged on his sleeve furiously. "Paul, you have to do something!"

He spared me a glance before training his eyes on the two, still throwing punches at each other on the floor.

'_Oh my god oh my god oh my god—'_

Suddenly, Paul was there too and he was pulling Jared off of my brother. Well, trying, actually. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, he was able to stand up taking Jared by the arms.

"Dude, you gotta chill!" I heard Paul yell, but wasn't really sure who he was referring to. Both Jared and my brother still looked ready to kill.

Somehow, thank god, I got hold of my body once again and immediately ran towards my brother who just stood up, putting both of my hands against his chest. I wasn't really sure what was I trying to prove at that time because I knew for a fact that I couldn't have stopped my brother, (he was at least six feet maybe, while I was "towering" on an average of five foot five) but heck at least I tried.

"What the hell are you doing with my sister huh?" my brother angrily shouted, taking steps towards Jared as if to attack him again.

"Adam!" I hissed, still trying to push him with my own weight. "Please stop, he didn't do anything!"

He glanced down at me, as if finally realizing that yes, I was still here. "Get out of the way Kim," was all he said to me before pushing me to the side and started towards them again.

"No!" I cried as I saw Jared pulled Paul's arms off, just as Adam punched him straight to the jaw. But Jared quickly retaliated and my brother stumbled on his feet. Before he could recover, Jared picked him up on his collar and punched him straight to the nose. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand, when I saw blood trickle down from Adam's nose.

Suddenly, Jared was bending low and clutching his—I widened my eyes in realization. Adam just kicked him in the you-know-where!

"That was _foul_ man, even for you," I heard Paul said lowly, his face tightening in anger. Then he shoved my brother back and pinned him against the blackboard as they continued to exchange punches.

Meanwhile, I just stood there again, my eyes wide in shock, my mind completely going blank as I took in the horrifying scene before me. _'What should I do what should I do—' _

Paul's fist collided with Adam's side and I heard him grunt, his face scrunching up in pain, blood continued to flow from his nose. _'It's unfair! Adam got to fight two huge guys at the same time?' _

Adam threw another hook aiming for the chin. _'Please just stop… PLEASE!'_

A warm hand suddenly grasped me in the shoulder and I looked up to see Jared staring down at me. I quickly noticed a dark bruise forming in his right eyebrow.

"I'm sorry Kim," he said, surprised that his voice was gentle and his expression looking so apologetic.

"W-What?" I blinked, surprised at his gesture.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, gritting his teeth. "This is all my fault."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "Jared—"

Whatever I was to say flew quickly out of my mind. My eyes shot open, my mouth still hanging, paused in a thought I couldn't bother to recall. And I stopped breathing. It was strange how I couldn't seem to remember how to breathe, but I swore my heart was alive and thundering so fast against my chest that I embarrassingly wondered if he could hear it. Blood was rapidly congesting in my face, but my whole body felt _so _hot—

And oh my god Jared's face was just about two inches away mine and he was cupping my cheek, his dark brown eyes smoldering and boring into mine and for the love of god I _still_ couldn't breathe!

"My name," he whispered.

"H-Huh?" I stuttered, my voice too weak to carry out a single coherent sentence, let alone a phrase.

"You finally said my name." He slowly smiled, his dimples deepening and I couldn't take my eyes off of them.

"Oh," was all I could say.

"_Get the HELL away from my sister, you motherfucker!"_

I blinked and jumped a little, finally releasing my breath. Somehow, I heard a familiar voice yelled some more colorful curses before I remembered where I was… and who was just raging in anger. I stumbled back, trying to get some space between Jared and me. I bowed my face down, my eyes trained on the floor, my face still burning. _'What just happened?' _

Suddenly, a black jacket was hovering in front of me and I looked up to see Adam standing protectively over me, facing Jared and Paul on the other side. I gripped his arm with both of my hands.

"Adam, listen!" I said, tugging on his jacket sleeve and trying to force him to face me. "It's not their fault!"

He glared down at me. "Are you siding with them now?"

I shook my head furiously. "I'm _not _on anyone's side, aren't you listening to me? I said it's no one's fault. _No one _is bothering me, okay?"

"Kim, I saw them here with you—"

"You didn't see anything." Our heads both turned to Paul. I absently noted that he was also gripping Jared's arm tightly, as if to stop him.

"The _hell_ I didn't see _shit_," Adam hissed.

Paul rolled his eyes and I bit my lip in worry. _'Just when they stopped fighting…' _

"We were just talking about the weather, man," he explained, shrugging. "You're being overly dramatic."

Just as Adam took a threatening step towards Paul, Jared spoke, his hands in front of him as if making peace.

"Hey Connweller, listen," he said calmly, his voice hard. I jumped at the sound of my surname in his lips, but I had to remind myself that he was referring to my brother, not me. _'No, he couldn't be upset with me, right?'_

"I didn't mean any harm to Kim," Jared continued, his eyes met mine for a second before facing my brother again. "I was just trying to help—"

"Whatever the fuck you're planning with my sister, I suggest you ditch it," Adam threatened. I shuddered inwardly at the genuine loathing in his voice. "I'm warning you, King. Mess with my sister and this is all out war."

"Adam," I whispered, suddenly scared where this was heading. My grip on his arm tightened. "Let's just go, please?"

For a moment, none of them said anything. Worriedly, I looked at them back and forth, and it seemed like they were sizing each other up. Two against one. I inwardly frowned at the unfairness of it, but I was more concerned with getting them away from each other.

"Come on Kim," Adam finally said, still not taking his eyes away from them. I let out a huge sigh of relief. I started tugging on the arm I was gripping, leading him towards the door, when he shook off his arm and placed it protectively around my shoulders instead.

On our way out, I spotted my bag which lay forgotten on the floor. As I bent to pick it up, I couldn't help but remember the moments that just passed a few minutes ago.

Jared was talking to me. He asked me for lunch. He held my bag for me. And for a few precious minutes, his hand was in mine.

I should be rejoicing for joy now. After three years of waiting and wishing, TK was finally acknowledging my otherwise pathetic existence. I didn't know what happened or what he ate to make him notice me like this. It was bewildering and thoroughly confusing, but right now, a wave of disappointment and sadness was washing over my being, overwhelming me with a sudden heavy feeling in my chest.

Unconsciously, I placed a hand against it, as I straightened and hoisted my bag in my shoulder. I clenched my fist, as if actually feeling my heart within my hands. It was still there, beating its own rhythm, pumping blood through my veins.

It was still there. I guess I was just making sure.

I couldn't help but feel that I was leaving it here, in this room, in the hands of that man that I had to admit I barely knew. He, who never spoke to me before with the exception of the stolen moments when he borrowed notes or a pen. He, who finally said hi to me just a few days ago and started smiling and talking to me like I was a new student and he was an old-timer and was just really interested in making new friends.

He, who had been enemies with my brother since the first time they saw each other.

He was Jared King, my heart beat for him, that I knew.

But the blood flowing out from it would always be connected to my brother. That, for a fact.

xxx

There was a time when I didn't speak for a long while. I was a normal baby, did whatever normal babies usually do – perhaps spitting out cereals whenever Mom tried to push it in my mouth, or wail at the impossible times like in the middle of the night so Dad had to rush to the nursery to hum me back to sleep. I seemed so normal, that my parents really never saw it coming. They only realized that something must be wrong with me when I was four years old, and my sister, only a year younger than me, spoke her first words _first_. They were expecting that I would be following suit after some days. And then there were weeks. A couple more months passed and I was still gurgling and cooing strange sounds, but not once did a happy "mama" nor "dada" passed my mouth.

Of course back then I couldn't remember why I just wouldn't speak. ("It was just sheer obstinacy," my oldest brother believed.) The doctors said there was nothing wrong with my tongue, so I couldn't be mute. My eardrums were perfectly fine, so that ruled out being deaf. Mom said that only after they had me checked by a child specialist, did they found out what exactly was wrong with me.

I was a special child.

Yes, seriously. As in one of those weird people who lived in their own strange world and spoke of a language that only they could understand. Looking back at it now, I wondered that if you put the special children together, would they understand each other then? Would they be able to communicate since they were all supposed to be living on this intangible space that only they could walk into? Would they feel like they _finally_ belonged and not feel _so_ misplaced in the strange world where everyone called reality?

There was nothing wrong with me, physically, but with everything else, I was just really late in development. I couldn't catch up mentally with kids my age. Hell, even my younger sister could already hold a spoon, but my mother continued to feed me. I was socially inept, like I was stuck within an invisible balloon where I couldn't grasp even a single idea from the world around me.

I was diagnosed to be psychologically-challenged.

Naturally, my parents enrolled me to a special school for kids like me. I started listening, then obeying, and then learning. It was a slow process, but somehow I could finally do simple things such as waving hello, hugging back anyone who hugged me, and calling my parents "ma" and "da".

They told me to do such things, this and that, but I never fully understood just _why._

However, it was my sister who taught me the answer to that.

I could remember that day clearly, even though I was only five. I just got home from school, sporting my first ever black-eye from a classmate. (Granted, he was the one who started it. I was happily coloring my dinosaur purple, when his hand suddenly grabbed a crayon from my desk. I smacked him right at the side of his head.) I was in tears when I entered the door, expecting to see a warm welcoming hug from my mother. But I was much more saddened when I learned that she was not at home. I got angry and stomped on my nanny's foot as hard as I could, before quickly running towards my room upstairs.

As I was running, I passed by our special "family room" and heard a strange sound coming from it. I was obviously a very curious kid, albeit a slow and silent one, so I entered.

I saw Kim, her little body sitting atop the plush bench, in front of the pure white box thing that was making those sounds. (Of course I didn't know it was called a grand piano back then.) I slowly approached her, eyeing that weird huge wooden box.

When she saw me, she smiled. Without saying anything, I hopped in the bench and sat beside her. That was when I realized what she was doing. She was pushing down those white and black keys with her pudgy little hands.

She suddenly laughed and I looked up. She was watching me watch her hands. I thought that her eyes were nice crinkled up in laughter like that. And that she looked funny coz she had some missing teeth.

I grinned back at her.

Turning back to the piano, warily, I pointed a finger and tried pressing down a key. _Ding._

We both stopped at the sound. We looked at each other at the same time. I didn't know how, but somehow, I felt a connection that I hadn't felt before. It was like the most curious and the bravest thing I've ever done back then. I started to smile, deciding that I wanted to have a go at it again.

It was several minutes after when our butler found us. He said that it was the most awful thing he'd heard in a while. I thought he was lying.

Thinking about it now, I knew that our butler was right – that was a complete ruckus we made with the piano.

But those sounds, those random notes we made… they were absolutely beautiful to me. I remembered putting a hand against my heart as we walked out of that room, worried that it might come out of my chest with its wild beating. But I knew I loved that feeling. I was excited and I couldn't wait to go back and play with that thing again.

It was Kim who made me feel alive for the first time in my life.

Unknowingly, she taught me that I could speak even without words, and others would actually understand. She taught me how to reach out and break my bubble and how not to be so afraid and uncertain of new things, thoughts, feelings that I silently felt inside me and I just couldn't let it out. She taught me the first steps how to live, laugh… love.

It was for that reason that I always put more effort when it came to her. From that day on, we were always connected to each other. We may not be twins, but we understood each other far more clearly than others could. It was because of this closeness that as we both grew up, our roles became reversed.

She became the quiet one, while I learned how to stand tall, be loud and be proud.

But that didn't bother us, nor changed anything between us.

'_She is still Kim and I am Adam.'_

I looked at her as she stared down at my hands, my knuckles skinned raw and red. Faintly, I heard the nurse say something about blood and noses as well, but I couldn't be bothered to listen. I was still watching my sister worry about me.

I snorted silently. She shouldn't be, there was no reason for her to be. Sure, I may have looked bad now just after coming from a fight, but I was fine. I could handle myself.

What I couldn't handle was anyone messing with my sister.

"Hey," I said, gently nudging her foot with mine.

She finally looked at me as she bit her lip and threw me a look, doubt clearly written in her eyes. _'Are you okay?'_

But I just winked in response. _'Don't worry.'_

She sighed and slumped back in her chair. We stayed that way, in the nurse's clinic, both of us silent and lost in our own thoughts. I stared at her as she watched the nurse cleaned and bandaged my hands.

'_As far as I know, I take care of her now.'_


	3. Dying to Breathe

_Standard disclaimers apply here. Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer._

xxx

**RHYTHM BLOOD AND SOUL**

_**Three AM**_

_Chapter Three: Dying to Breathe_

xxx

'_I can't believe it.'_

I stared at nothing as my admittedly slow brains tried to catch up with what was happening with my life recently. Or rather, the lack of happening.

'_I'm back to freaking zero.'_

I closed as my eyes, took a deep breath, and slumped further down on my chair. I fought the urge to smack my head down in defeat on the kitchen table in front of me. I wasn't sure if it was because of my stupidity or maybe because Fate simply loved to mess up with me (I'm guessing though that it's a tie), but whatever it was, all I knew was that I was royally screwed.

Paul had warned me to keep it low. And with _it_ he meant my attraction for Kim, which to him was apparently like "a dog in heat panting after panties". I remembered hitting him at the back of the head right after.

But now, I guessed he was right. It had been exactly two days and a half since that incident I had with Kim and her fucking brother. Two days of her ignoring me, whether it be in our few classes together (I even bullied Ryan Specks into trading seats with me just so I could sit beside her), or me waiting for her in her locker, or in the library as I tried to read while watching her through the small gaps in between the bookshelves… she was just _there, _so blatantly ignoring my pathetic existence. Even when I tried to call her name, she would duck her head and quicken her steps.

Like she never heard me.

And with each step she took away from me, my heart would squeeze painfully.

Now that it was finally Saturday, you would think I could get a rest from all that beating my poor heart has endured. Man, you couldn't be more wrong.

I was _dying_ to breathe.

"Jared?" I instinctively looked up, as a soft hand touched my shoulder. Emily, who was standing beside me, was looking at me with concern clear in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but like a freaking computer in our school's loser lab, I just hanged. I honestly didn't know what to say, because I wasn't okay. I couldn't lie to her either. I _hated_ lying.

She seemed to understand because she smiled at me (although quite pityingly) and wordlessly handed me one very familiar muffin – my all-time favorite blueberry muffin with special strawberry jam fillings. Finally, I smiled at her, genuinely.

I seriously believe that anything Emily Young cooked and baked was made from some unknown paradise. Sam was one fucking lucky guy.

"Hey, what about me?" I heard Paul whined as I took a bite from heaven.

Emily rolled her eyes. Nevertheless, she placed a tray of muffins in the table. Without even asking, Paul immediately grabbed two pieces.

"Is it about Kim again?" Emily asked.

My mouth still full of devoured muffin, I could simply nod.

Again, she smiled at me, as if understanding my situation. Well, on a second thought, maybe she really did. She had been there, and even paid a high cost because of it. Now thinking about it, I backtracked. She and Sam endured so much that it seemed unfair to compare my imprinting with theirs.

"It will get better in time," she tried to reassure me. And I found myself really wanting to believe her…

"What a long _long_ time that is," Paul drawled.

Just when that balloon of hope began to form inside me, he just _had_ to deflate it. The bastard.

She threw a glare at him before reassuring me again. "She's your imprint. She wouldn't be able to resist that long."

I frowned. Something in that sentence felt kinda… wrong to me. "But I don't want her to like me just coz of the imprint."

She paused and stared at me, a calculating look on her face, that I started to fidget slightly. I wasn't used to anyone reading me like this.

"What?" I muttered.

But she just chuckled and ruffled my short hair. "I think imprinting did you good."

"Huh?" I answered stupidly.

"I think imprinting hit him in the head so hard that he lost a screw," Paul quipped. A flying muffin hit him right in the nose (what could I say, I was pretty fast and had good aim) but before he could retaliate, a familiar intimidating presence entered the room.

"No food fights inside the house," Sam simply said, but intuitively, we felt his subtle order in that voice.

And just like always, he walked towards and Emily and just… this would be weird, but they were like _making love_ in public. It wasn't like they were torridly kissing each other or hands going to places that shouldn't be there, in front of us. (Sam wouldn't mind – yes we were _that_ important to him – but I definitely think Emily would.) But it was just there, whenever their eyes would meet even if they're away from each other, across the room. It was obvious when Emily would smile at him and Sam would repay by caressing the small of her back. It was much more blatant when he would just drop his head a bit and rest it against hers (good thing Emily was quite tall) and they'd just… hold each other.

Moments like those, I would turn my head away. It felt a bit intruding to me, even if they're doing just that.

Which made me think back to Kim.

'_Kim.'_ I sighed, a gloomy cloud of depression quickly hovering over my head.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?"

I blinked and met Paul's gaze. I suddenly felt quite defensive.

"So?" I replied, quite annoyed. He didn't have an imprint, so how could he judge me so easily?

He surprised me when he let out an irritated huff. I thought he would laugh at me or something for being so… _whipped._ Even I cringed at that.

"You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?" Man, I think Paul may be right. I might have lost a bolt in my brains or something…

"Sheez," he snorted, throwing an unbelievable look at me. Then he turned to Emily and Sam. "Quiz us about Kim and I bet I would know more about her than this loser right here."

I inhaled sharply as his words hit closer to home than he realized. I turned away from him when my eyes met Sam's. And with that simple look, I knew he understood. I suddenly felt so conscious that I had to look down and stare instead at the kitchen table. Those muffins had never been so interesting before…

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"I know Kim, way back before I turned all wolf."

"Really?" I could tell she was a bit surprised at his revelation. Meanwhile, I was just getting way more and more depressed at the moment. I knew Paul didn't mean to, but right now, he was rubbing it into my face that I barely knew my own imprint, while he actually did know her even much more than I realized.

A sharp stab of resentment and jealousy pierced right through me. I glared down at the table, as I tried not to punch Paul in the face. It wasn't his fault, I knew that. If any, it was mine. But befriending Kim before was not easy, especially in my case.

"I used to hang out with her brother before," Paul answered simply. But I knew there was more to it than that.

"Used to?"

He shrugged, leaving it at that.

"Hmm. Well, that's a shame," she said. "I think you could help Jared with Kim—"

"I don't need help," I cut in.

"And why should I?" Paul added, smirking at me. I was about to throw him the finger when I remembered that Sam's in the room. He didn't want us being vulgar in front of Emily.

"Give it time, Jared," Sam advised. "Everything will fall into place eventually."

"In the meantime," Paul leaned forward, evil clearly glinting in his eyes. "Why don't you buy one of those blowup dolls, coz I think you won't be getting any—"

I stood up and tried to deck him, but he was able to grasp my hand before it hit his head.

"Enough!" Sam ordered.

"Think, man!" Paul shouted angrily, shoving off my hand. He too stood up, the chair crashing down on the floor. "Why do you think Kim keeps on running away from you? You don't even know her name before and then suddenly you're all over her space? Use your goddamn head!"

He turned away and was about to go out the door, when I suddenly blurted out, "You're wrong. I knew her name even before I saw her face."

xxx

Author's Notes: I'm sorry it's so short! I've been planning this chapter to explain Jared's perspective, but I think what I had in mind deserves a one whole chapter and not just some extension. ;)

One of you pointed out that it would probably be helpful if I'll put whose POV it is before every section. I'm honestly sorry if I made it so confusing for you guys! That's not my objective at all. I think I have this habit of letting my readers think and guess while reading my fic… You see, I want you guys to figure it out by yourselves. Although, maybe I got too carried away with it. ^_^ I'm terribly sorry.

However, I don't want to just put there so blatantly whose POV is next. So, I'll just promise you guys to reveal the character early – I'll put more hints here and there. I think you can handle that. ;)

Hopefully, this chapter is okay and not too confusing again. ^_^

Thanks for reading and reviews are certainly appreciated!


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